Electrical enhancement of bilayer formation

A system for forming a plurality of lipid bilayers over an array of cells in a nanopore based sequencing chip, the system comprising:

• a nanopore based sequencing chip comprising an array of cells, each of the cells comprising a well;
• a flow chamber coupled to the nanopore based sequencing chip;
• a processor or a circuitry configured to:
• flow a salt buffer solution via the flow chamber over the array of cells in the nanopore based sequencing chip to substantially fill the wells in the cells with the salt buffer solution;
• flow a lipid and solvent mixture via the flow chamber over the array of cells to deposit the lipid and solvent mixture over at least some of the wells in the cells;
• detect that a first portion of the cells each having a lipid bilayer over its well and detecting that a second portion of the cells each having a lipid membrane but not a lipid bilayer over its well;
• and
• selectively apply an electrical lipid-thinning stimulus to the second portion of the cells but not to the first portion of the cells.